Jorge Valero, Oliver Crook, and Andrea Palasciano of Bloomberg report that China has begun issuing longer-term export licenses for critical minerals, allowing European companies to secure essential materials for industries like clean tech, automotive, and defense. The EU, led by trade chief Maros Sefcovic, has welcomed this move as it eases bureaucratic bottlenecks that previously required excessive documentation. Since April, about 70% of license requests have been approved, up from 50%, helping stabilize rare-earth supplies, where China holds near-monopoly control. The EU continues to address broader trade challenges with China, including semiconductors, trade imbalances, and foreign investment restrictions, while also preparing measures to protect European industries from growing external pressures. They write:
China has started granting licenses with lengthier terms to allow European companies to obtain critical minerals essential for industries including clean tech, automakers and defense contractors, the EU’s top trade official said.
“We are getting initial reports from our industry that they are getting these general licenses but we need to have a little bit more granular information to evaluate the whole process,” Maros Sefcovic, European Commission’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, told Bloomberg Television.
Officials in Brussels have argued that licenses valid for a year would help ease bottlenecks in an application process that has threatened to cripple German carmakers and other vital industries. […]
Beijing triggered a panic among many industries in Europe, the US and elsewhere after it set up an export license regime to oversee the shipping some critical minerals including rare earth materials, a sector where China holds a near monopoly of production. […]
Last week, the EU agreed to impose a €3 levy for small parcels from mid-2026 amid the booming of e-commerce mostly from China that is putting European retailers under severe strain. The commission is preparing measures to restrict foreign direct investment in some strategic sectors that fail to meet certain conditions, including creating local value and bringing technology eyeing China.
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